Nineteen Weeks

Sometime over the weekend, someone made a sneak attack in the middle of the night and messed around with my pants.  What seemed like overnight I ‘grew’ out of two pairs. Last week they fit just fine, with room to spare, four days later...no way Jose.

Sooo this has been the week of discovering the world of maternity wear.

With our three week South American cruise sailing off next week my introduction was not limited to the comfy cozy fall maternity fashions, I’ve had to hit the full gamut -shorts, tanks, sweaters, formal wear, and even bathing suits. Who knew you could spend a full hour and a half in a small North Bend outlet store?!

Things I learned this week about maternity clothes...

- Maternity clothes are funny.
- Maternity clothes make you look pregnant.
- Maternity pants don’t have real working buttons or zippers. Would you believe they’re all fake and only for show? They’re full blown pull ups.
- They are surprisingly very comfortable.  Now I understand why people sport them as long as they do.
- If you try on a pair of pants and they’re too big, check the waist, there might be a secret squirrel elastic band and button set up that you can cinch up (accentuating the pull-up-ness of the pants).
- You will never catch me alive wearing a maternity top with a tie back (or front, or side) style. No how, no way, not for this kid.  True story, the 80’s called while I was browsing and asked for their ties and bows back.

All and all while on my adventure I believe I truly embraced the whole idea, was pleasantly surprised at what I found and  feeling good about my new wardrobe for our big trip.

Other random ramblings from this week...

My chest wasn’t so ouchy during the night, hooray!  And I’m finding it easier and easier each night to sleep on my side this week.

One cup of drip coffee makes me feel like I’ve just ingested five pounds of crack. The sudden burst of energy is kind of fun and worth looking forward to. (I’ve average maybe one cup a week – I look at it as my special treat.)

More baby how-to books arrived this week, so I think we’re in good shape and set for a good dose of baby reading/education on our trip.

Mom comes tomorrow, she’s been in AZ for the month so I think (because I can’t remember what I looked like) this will be her first baby bump sighting.

I was plagued with a headache that a few Tylenol wouldn’t kill most of Thursday. Headaches pre-pregnancy were extremely rare, so I’m not so conditioned to the effects.

And this week from the Bump.com  

Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.